This Mini Chocolate Cake For Two With Mascarpone Cream makes a perfect little dessert for a date night or when you want to indulge in a fancy treat but no willing to spend hours in the kitchen. This cute dessert is easy to make and so incredibly delicious!
Mini Chocolate Cake Recipe
It's almost February and I realise, I should have probably posted such a beautiful dessert long before Valentine's Day.
It's one of those easy to make, impressive taste kind of desserts. In addition, it serves 2 people which is perfect if you want to share a dessert with your loved ones.
But hey, pretty desserts are not for Valentine's Day only. Am I right?
And who said you can't enjoy a decadent dessert for two on a Friday night?
When it comes to a dessert so pretty and yummy, I can honestly tell you, I don't mind enjoying it every day.
Seriously, I'm drooling right know. Because as I'm writing this blog post, my younger daughter is sleeping, it's time for my afternoon tea and all I can think of is how moist, creamy and chocolaty this cake is. Give it to me!
4-inch Chocolate Cake Recipe
How do you make this cake so small? Well, I'm glad you asked.
Here, you have two options.
First - you can use empty tuna cans, as suggested by Lindsay at LindsayBakes, whose recipe I used as a base for my cake.
Second - you can follow my route and use mini springform pans. My mom bought them last summer and this was my first time using these pans.
They come in a set of 3 and are 4 inches in diameter but for this cake you will only need 2 pans.
Thanks to strawberries and maple syrup, this Mini Chocolate Cake comes out moist and flavorful.
I've also used maple syrup to caramelise pistachios and they added a little crunchy sweet bite, which I absolutely loved.
Mascarpone Cake Filling
For the cake frosting, I've went for a fool-proof combination of Mascarpone cheese and heavy cream. I've also used this frosting in my French Dacquoise Cake.
You just can't go wrong with this combo, right? I feel like when I need a quick and simple frosting recipe, this one never lets me down.
Finally, I decorated my cake with strawberries, but it would taste just as great with any other berries of your choice.
Believe me, if you make this beautiful cake once, I'm pretty sure you'll be making it again, it is that good!
If you like this Small Chocolate recipe, you will also enjoy these Chocolate Desserts: |
Mini Chocolate Cake Recipe Video
Recipe
Mini Chocolate Cake For Two
Video
Ingredients
For the Cake
- ⅓ c boiling water
- ⅓ c cocoa powder
- ⅓+1/4 c all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ c granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg beaten
- ⅓ c sour cream
- 2 tablespoon + 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the Frosting
- ½ c Mascarpone cheese
- ½ c heavy cream
- ¼ c powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Decoration
- 10 strawberries hulled and halved
- 1 tablespoon pistachios
- 4 tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
To make Chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and lightly grease 2 mini springform pans with cooking spray.
- In a tall cup whisk together cocoa powder and boiling water. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
- In a small bowl whisk together egg, sour cream, vegetable oil and vanilla extract.
- Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add in the cocoa powder and water mixture and stir until all ingredients are combined. Don't overmix!
- Divide the batter evenly between two mini springform pans and bake for 25-28 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle of a cake, comes out with fewer crumbs.
- Remove cake from the oven, let it cool for 10 minutes and then remove from the pans.
To Caramelize the Pistachios
- Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add pistachios and toast for about 5 minutes giving a skillet an occasional shake. Add 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and stir until it coats pistachios. Transfer caramelised pistachios on a piece of parchment paper to cool.
- When pistachios have cooled down a bit, give them a rough chop.
To Make Frosting
- In a large bowl beat the heavy cream and sugar until soft peaks form. (Electric hand mixer works best for it).
- Add Mascarpone cheese, vanilla extract and beat until the cream is thick and firm peaks form. (Don't overbeat).
To Assemble The Cake
- Slice off the uneven tops (about ¼ of an inch) of each cake and set the tops aside. (You can use them later to make homemade truffles or enjoy with the leftovers of mascarpone frosting)
- Generously spread the mascarpone frosting on one of the cakes. Top with half of the strawberries.
- Cover with the remaining cake and spread the mascarpone frosting on top of it. Garnish with the remaining strawberries and caramelised pistachios. Drizzle the top of the cake with the remaining 2 tablespoons of maple syrup.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
Iryna Bychkiv is the founder and writer of the culinary website Lavender & Macarons, where she shares clean, European-inspired recipes that are delicious, easy to prepare, and made with wholesome ingredients. Iryna loves creating meals that are simple yet healthy and unique, including vegan and vegetarian recipes.
Iryna is also a freelance writer for MSN and Associated Press Wire.
Wendy Vuong says
Best sour cream chocolate cake I've had. I would like to make it in either an 8 or 9 inch tin and was wondering if you had the measurements and baking times to make that size cake?
Iryna says
Hi Wendy! Sorry, it took me long to reply back! Thank you for your lovely comment! I'm glad you liked the dessert. Unfortunately I've never made it in bigger size. However if I were to make it in 9 inch tin, I would probably follow this recipe for the batter. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/230453/sour-cream-dark-chocolate-cake/
And in terms of frosting, I would just double the ingredients for the frosting in my recipe. So 1 cup Mascarpone, 1 cup cream, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
I hope this helps!
Miss Chili says
My husband's birthday is coming up and I decided to bake this perfect little chocolate delight. Looks gorgeous and sounds delicious. Thank you for this great recipe!
Iryna says
You're welcome:) I hope you'll like it!
Rebecca Blackwell says
These are so pretty! And I love that you've combined chocolate with mascarpone and pistachios! Yum! I'm going to have to try these. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Iryna says
Thank you Rebecca! Chocolate, mascarpone and pistachios are a delicious combo indeed. You will love this recipe!:)
heather (delicious not gorgeous) says
ahhh these are so cute and pretty! i love caramelizing nuts that way (i usually do that for almonds and then toss them into salads). and i bet you could also bake off a bigger batch in a sheet pan and then cut circles out of that (you get more scraps to munch on, but less actual finished cake).
Iryna says
Thank you Heather! Caramelisation of nuts is a such a great technique, right? I think I've been doing it a lot lately, maybe even too much:) It's a delicious way to get some sweet crunch into the dish.